Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
"Sirs! Sirs! It's good to see you!" A figure clad in familiar green runs from under cover of trees towards them, her smile of relief evident even from a distance. They stand easy as she approaches them.
Eswyn smiles inside his helm. "El'en, well met! How is your patrol going?"
She slings her bow and salutes. "Very well, sir .. I'm just glad to see you and not two of the other rangers .. they pass through here sometimes and we hide from them .. we're still not sure how they'll react to us being in their Woods..."
The two both nod in understanding, "Do what you think is best .. and don't spend too long away from home. Some in the South will not understand."
She nods and they continue north, later being joined by another of the very small company of rebellious scouts recently come north to aid their ancient enemies. Together, the four cross the moor and soon arrive at a slight rise where they can see a troop of gnolls camped, gathering for one of their incursions into the elven lands.
The surprise attack hits, and very quickly all the gnolls are dead or dying. Daniel begins laying traps so that when another group arrives from their main camp they'll have trouble retaking the high ground. Eswyn stands with the scouts gazing out across the bleak moorland, chatting quietly about the landscape and gnoll positions nearby. And suddenly, an elven voice from below..
"Oh-ho .. what's this then?"
Eswyn looks down and just about catches the flash of a seal he knows well being shown. He glances to the scouts, who say nothing, merely gazing levelly at the masked female at the bottom of the slope.
Eswyn's surprise stops his mouth for a moment or two, till all he can think of is a single question: "The Order, here?"
The figure may have smirked beneath its mask, because the voice certainly sounds sarcastic. "Had you forgotten? The Order iseverywhere .. and you, what mightyou be doing so far north?"
Eswyn pauses and glances to Daniel, who simply shrugs as he lays yet another wire. Looking once again at the two scouts, who haven't taken their eyes off the new arrival, he decides to go with the plain unvarnished truth.
"We are hunting gnolls, and aiding our northern kin in their struggle against invaders"
One of the scouts nods; the other remains impassive. Daniel finally lays his last wire and steps forward so he can see the speaker below. A flash of recognition crosses his face but he says nothing. The figure also hesitates a moment, but recovers her composure quickly, and laughs - though the laugh is a little forced, now she can see that she's facing four - all dressed in the garb of her allies. She is clearly unsure what to do, and responds with impressive cool.
"What is this nonsense? Explain yourselves? What are you talking about - kin? These Feywooders are our enemies - and you are aiding them? I wonder if I should kill you now or simply report this to the Lady..."
Daniel chuckles and in one fluid movement he draws out an arrow and nocks it, aiming steadily at the figure's head. One of the scouts seems to melt into the nearby trees. Eswyn stands up straighter. "Report whatever you wish, we do not fear the Lady or the Order. We are here to protect our kin, and no criminals nor lich will stop us.. We are Tir Calentaurië. She doesn't care for the Woods, only her Order. We are the opposite."
With a smirk invisible inside his helmet but audible in his voice, Daniel adds, "The Lady comes to me with problems to be solved. Tell her The Hunter is part of this .. see what happens." His fingers tighten on the arrow.
Now the figure gives in to her doubt, and pauses, narrowing her eyes. What are you talking about?"
Her pause gives Eswyn an opening into which he jumps without hesitation. "Have you read the histories? Do you know why the Feywooders are supposed to be our enemies? It's a very long story.."
The figure shakes her head. "No, I haven't - how about you tell me? The short version, if you please.."
A moment's thought and he begins... "Once upon a time, the Elves lived as one in the Greenwood. Then came the lich Uultak and poisoned the mind of one called Syann, who took power. Civil War, exile, Feywood and Greenvale and the poisoning of the Greenwood .. centuries of war and distrust, the Order attracting murderers and criminals, cultivating fear and making us the target of every do-gooder on the island .. and now here we are. You must read the histories .. everywhere they tell the same story..." As quickly as he began, he stops.
The figure remains silent for nearly a minute before a soft and thoughtful, "Yes, I will. I will do that.".
Daniel whispers, without taking his eyes from his target, "I can fix this in less than a second, if you just give me the word.."
The scout who remains by them looks round, clearly conflicted. Eswyn shakes his head. "Enough killing of our kin. I won't kill or have killed one more elf. Save perhaps .. one..." his voice tails off and he does not name the one.
Daniel lowers his bow and the tension eases. The other scout reappears from the trees. The figure at the bottom of the slope doesn't move. There is a few minutes' silence, finally broken as Eswyn asks with a smile, "So - meanwhile, will you come and hunt gnolls with us?"
Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
Life or death .. life or death .. life .. or death.
Something has to give.
Walking north once again, a thousand thoughts fill his head. Memories flash, sounds, sights, smells .. and imagination working overtime, what if .. what if .. what if?
What if it fails? What if She finds out? What if She knows already? What if there's no telling till that horrible moment when, surrounded by green and black, the pain begins?
Still, pain is just pain. Nothing new, and nothing that can't be endured .. or even enjoyed. There's nothing they can achieve in the realm of pain worse than .. No. Stop right now. If the time comes, those memories will comfort. Let them bring the pain. What do they know of pain anyway?
No .. fear is much, much worse. Fear that paralyses, fear that brings despair and impotence...
But what if it succeeds? Could that be worse? There might be fear now, but the fear keeps order. Everyone knows who's who and what's what .. but with the fear and order gone, what if the Taint takes a firmer hold? What if Uultak returns and begins its work all over again? What if something even worse arises? All-out civil war? Would that not be even worse than the vicious stalemate we have now?
Or yet more .. what if it brings peace? Would any of us know what to do, if this war were suddenly over? Would anybody even believe it? And would it really make the Island a better, safer place?
No .. that's fear talking again. Let the war end .. let us take it to where it belongs, finally. Yes .. revenge. Keep that thought in mind! Revenge...
And suddenly, he's there. The northern Woods.
He makes camp in the southern reaches, well away from the prying eyes of patrols and well off the beaten track, and by the light of his small fire, writes a note on smooth paper in beautiful Elvish script.
Some time after sunrise, his mind still full of doubts, he arrives at his final destination...
[ image disabled ]
He walks off to return to his camp and await .. whatever comes.
Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
Even though he was expecting them, they still managed to take him by surprise.
Sitting quietly by his small fire, passing the time carving intricate spirals onto a long bone which was slowly taking the shape of a wand, Eswyn looked up suddenly as he felt a presence nearby. They had come.
They introduced themselves: Styvn and Willow, both Tel'Varataurie. Eswyn recognized Willow from long ago and tried to ignore the clear disappointment on his face as he realized this Eswyn's heart lay with the Southern Woods. Styvn reluctantly removed his helmet to show his own face.
At this gesture, Eswyn bowed his head briefly. Small steps; but in the right direction...
He came straight to the point, explaining why he'd come to them and what he had in mind. The other two were doubtful - Willow especially so. He had seen more and lived longer on the Island than Eswyn and he was under no illusions that what the Southerner had in mind was certainly dangerous, probably naive, and very likely destined to fail utterly. He pointed to the example of Gaelwyn, who had tried and ended up half dead in a dungeon. But Eswyn would not be put off; when you have an itch, you can only stop yourself from scratching it for so long before it drives you mad.
And this itch had been bothering him far, far too long.
He could leave the Southern Woods, that was true. But what? And forsake his kin as so many had done for so many years? No - enough of running away. He'd run away when Gaelwyn needed help and the shame still haunted him. No - enough of fear and cowardice.
In any case there were, as he explained, some who are being born these days without the Taint - though as Willow pointed out, there are many others who remain tainted, and loyal to the inheritors of tyranny. However, how many are only loyal through fear? This question remains unanswered, and gives room for doubt .. and possibly even hope...
Hope. Powerful, they may be. But invincible? Nothing and nobody is invincible.
Styvn at least promised for his part that he personally would not fire on any Southerners he came across within the Feywood - as long as they were truly not hostile to his kin. Willow did not make any such promise, but did offer to speak with the Council and tell them about this meeting. Styvn said he would take word South to the Stone City Elisara, as ambassador - as much as anything else because doubted Eswyn had ever had the blessing of Yu'Syu
Eswyn made the same promise to both of them about his own home - but added that naturally, he couldn't speak for the regular troops there either...
One thing he did give, though, partly for good faith and partly because it satisfied him to think his northern kin might find themselves giving badly-needed aid. The name of a man who can usually be found in The Laiden Swallow in Steinkreis. A man who regularly sends his underlings to kill Feywood scouts and officers stationed at their base in the city. If news came of his .. demise .. Eswyn would not be upset.
Finally, there was no more to say. For now. The three went their separate ways: Willow and Styvn north once more, to speak with their own superiors. Eswyn, south. There were people to see, and plans to make...
[No screenshot, sadly - I was too caught up in the drama...]
Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
OOC Intermission
I've decided not to incude details of exactly what Eswyn has in mind - PM me if you must know. It is big, dangerous and certainly not guaranteed to succeed or anything like it.
Any players who have any kind of an interest in Syann's Order - positive or negative - please do get involved. I don't know who you are, or even if you are .. but if you're out there, come and play!
Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
So, Rederik was alive and we--. In any case he was alive. This news came as something of a blow.
Mainly because he was tied to a chair in front of the Lady. He was supposed to be a prisoner - or corpse - in Feywood!
Eswyn was annoyed. Who was damn well interfering? Did they even know what they were doing? He was given to the occasional curse, but this round of cursing took him from one end of the Woods to the other, killing every fey and beetle that crossed his path - or at least stirring them up so that Alton and Litiana had to kill them.
And now, he - they - were obliged to work for Her once again.
He could only hope that they would be successful and gain her greater favour, and trust. At least that way, they'd move one step closer to the position they needed to be in.
Curses, curses, curses. Someone would have to pay for this.
Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
They'd found him; finding him was easier than persuading him to come with them - Natia knew what awaited him in the Woods. But he surely also knew the kind of people he was messing with, and that there was no way for him to avoid his punishment. Sooner or later, he would be facing the Lady to account for himself - the Order is not something you can escape, once you cross them.
However, there was something else to consider, bigger than him or any of the folk who sat negotiating his surrender. If Tir Calentaurie failed in the task the Lady had given them - if the Order had to come and find him themselves - they would be bound and bloody sitting in their own chairs just like Rederik's, and it would be all over. After that, there would be nobody else. The Order would appoint a new operative, the Woods would stay poisoned, the War would go on.
By coming with them, now, Natia would not only save himself a long and pointless struggle to hide from the consequences of what he'd done - but he would ultimately be helping all his kin, North and South, City and Woods. By bringing him quickly and alive, his captors would please the Lady, and receive her continued trust and favour...
Which they could not go on without.
A sacrifice - for hope...
Bound tightly all the way up his arms, and gagged so he could not utter any incantations, he held tightly onto a small stone etched with a single rune, perhaps to remind him why he was allowing himself to suffer .. because suffer he would.
Jungle Law Enforcerer Registered Member #1180
Joined: 7:46:29 am GMT 10/05/07
Posts: 1292
He had memories of how it was outside, the fresh air, the pleasant tickle of the grass beneath his hands and the thrill of the weave rushing out from his body, of how the small orb would channel the energies around it and he could channel those but now...nothing. Images and memories without any connection or link, a whirlwind without meaning. He remembers he left the Order, he remembers he knew why, he remembers how he surrendered and did not fight its Emissaries.
He remembers he did not fight for something great and incredibly important.
A word in his mind is spoken countless times...Hope, Hope, Hope, Hope.... then the memories start to whirl again.
Noise in the corridor, They were coming again. They would meet him everyday without missing one.
-Why not end it once and for all? Why was he held captive and tortured then healeded, only to be tortured again? Was it just the sadistic whim of somebody, such pain only for crossing Order?-
The paces are slow but the noise is getting closer. They were getting closer.
-Is it worse the torure of the mind or the one of the body?-
Natia, Elith wouldn't understand the question anyway, the only thing he now knows is the Pain.
One of the sickening green leather dressed elves open the cellar as another folloowing holds a rusted and white hot sword in his hand.
Elith's thoughts, if so definable, come to an abrupt end.
The green clad elf begins to his work, the sword cuts and pierce as it removes chunks of meat from the old elf body.
Then the screaming begins.
Elith knows nothing more but the pain, he screams to stop it, to kill him even but to no avail.
Screams that wield the true significance of pain, the torture of the body and mind.
Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
How did She know?
The look on her face when she'd told him he was to go to Feywood was enough. She knew he'd been there recently. He didn't know how she knew - though there were a few of the more rebellious from the Woods travelling there occasionally these days and any of them could have been followed, himself included.
At least She didn't know why he'd gone there, that much was plain. If she did, he would be hanging in a cell - not sent away with an important task. He knew what happened to those who threatened the Order; in any case, as he left Her chambers, his mind racing, the scream which echoed from the most recently-occupied cell reminded him graphically...
Two thoughts were uppermost in his mind.
Is it a test?
Is it a punishment?
It could be a test. It could be that she wanted to see what he would do and who he would speak to. She might know he'd recently spoken to Tel'Varataurie, she might only know that he and others had been helping protect Feywood from its gnollish attackers. Neither of these were technically a crime, but both would be cause for suspicion.
It could be a punishment. Send him to a place he was obviously fond of in the role of an enemy, to see what happened to him. She knew the Feywooders hated and feared the southerners as much as the southerners hated and feared them back, and he might get killed just for being there. Just because one or two of the troops wouldn't shoot him on sight, didn't mean it was anything like safe for him.
As he prepared for his trip, making a new quiver of arrows and cleaning and repairing his leathers, he summoned magic to sharpen his mind and mulled over the possibilities. Would they go in uniform, or not? In uniform was more dangerous, but in this he wasn't representing himself.
In any case, he had the beginnings of a plan. It would be risky, but it might be the only way to lift him above suspicion. And more than anything, he needed that.
Registered Member #1273
Joined: 2:56:54 pm GMT 03/23/08
Posts: 536
In actual fact, it wasn't his idea. It was Faery's.
It was her job to take care of him and at times like these he always relied on her greater intelligence and wisdom; she was there to advise him, and she was usually right.
As he sat finishing off the final arrows, he decided he needed her advice once again to work out what he must do, and called out in fey. A moment later, she was there - smiling proudly at him and kissing him on the cheek. He already felt better, just having her nearby...
[ image disabled ]
She flew fast, invisibly and all through the night, a long back route that took her out of the main way. She didn't see any sign of people all the way to Feywood, and on arriving flew high over the chasm around the stronghold and straight to a tall tree she recognized from his description...
[ image disabled ]
The morning sun was bright. She waited quietly, on a soft bank of moss in some shade near the edge of the flet, for the one called Styvn to return from his duties...
[ The Island of Thain ]
Poisonwood Traitors
